'A sudden voice over the tannoy... and we were back to Kiev'

A show of strength from Russian-backed forces in Crimea had abruptly brought
air travel between Ukraine and its Black Sea territory to a halt

Russian-backed forces maintain the control of Simferopol Airport in Crimea, UkrainePhoto: Getty

By Damien McElroy, Ukraine

9:30PM GMT 11 Mar 2014

The sandy brown wastes of Crimea’s northern shore were rapidly coming into view when the captain’s voice broke over the tannoy with a sudden burst of rushed and confused announcements.

Ukraine International Flight PS65 had about five minutes left in its descent into Crimea’s main airport at Simferopol as the pilot explained as best he could in Ukrainian, English and then Russian that it would not be landing.

At first there was a frantic murmur from the rows of passengers, followed by seconds of anxious silence. It appeared for a time that the aircraft was circling for negotiations with the control tower.

Very quickly the captain was back on the microphone and it was not good news. There was no reprieve and so the aircraft was bound for Odessa on the Ukraine mainland.

A show of strength from Russian-backed forces in Crimea had abruptly brought air travel between Ukraine and its Black Sea territory to a halt.

The latest move by Moscow to tighten its grip on the territory had, like prior security operations, been achieved without a shot fired. In the days leading up to Sunday’s referendum, Moscow’s legions are leaving nothing to chance.

When the pilot told passengers that the air control tower had denied permission to land, one man, Andriy (who did not want to use his last name) let out a frustrated yelp. “Ah. I thought I’d made it back,” he said. “I’m confused why Russia is doing all this, but not surprised. I’d hoped to get back to vote.”

The cabin was eventually informed that the flight would be returning to its base in Kiev, the capital.

Adam Dobby, a British consultant who was travelling to Crimea, greeted the turnaround with weary acceptance. He had spent the previous night at Kiev airport as a succession of four civilian flights to Simferopol were cancelled.

“They said it was high winds but it was clear it was trouble on the ground,” he said. The night sleeper to Sevastopol was the only option last night for Crimeans like Andriy who had been hoping to vote on the destiny of their homeland.